Female Circumcision

Last week I read the blog of Colson from Holland titled " How to Curb Female Sexual Desire " in which he quoted an official of the Indonesian Ulama Council (MUI) saying that the purpose of Female Circumcision is to control Female Sexual Desire.

After reading Colson's said blog post, I deemed it necessary to write about Circumcision in general and Female Circumcision in particular.

According to Wikipedia, the word Circumcision (from Latin Circumcidere meaning : to cut around) is used to describe Male Circumcision i.e. the surgical removal of the foreskin from the human Penis, an established practice adopted by Moslems all over the world.

Beside Moslems, Circumcision is also practiced by Judaism, Coptic Christianity and the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. For further details about Circumcision, please read here.

A very scary young girl about to be Circumcised

Unlike the Male Circumcision, Female Circumcision is considered dangerous by the World Health Organization (WHO)  which gave it a very scary name Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and define it as " all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female organs for non medical reasons."  Details about FGM can be read here.

For that reason, in April 2006 the Indonesian government, through the Department of Health, banned Female Circumcision (here). This decision was strongly protested by MUI which issued a Fatwa (Edict) in the year 2008 stating that the ban of Female Circumcision is against Islamic regulation. An MUI official explained that Female Circumcision is done by "incising the the skin that covers the front part of the Clitoris without harming the Clitoris."  

In response to said MUI's Fatwa, the Minister of Health has issued a regulation which allow Female Circumcision on the condition that it done based on modern medical standard to ensure the safeness of the female being Circumcised.
 
Considering that Female Circumcision is more dangerous than Male Circumcision, I hope that the government would ban Female Circumcision, or if it is to be allowed, must be based on the female's consent and strictly conducted by authorized medical professionals based on modern medical standard.

Photo :  Courtesy of Berita Aneh

Eid Ul Fitr 2012

After one month of dawn-to-sunset Fasting during the entire month of Ramadhan, on Sunday, 19 August 2012, Moslems in Indonesia celebrated the Eid Ul Fitr.

According to Wikipedia, Eid is an Arabic word meaning "Festivity", while Fitr means "Breaking the Fast".

In Indonesia, Eid Ul Fitr is known as Hari Raya Idul Fitri or Lebaran and celebrated for two to three days. Many people of Indonesian big cities return to their hometown to celebrate the festive. For which purpose, most employers provide special bonus and long holidays to their workers. Some employers even provide free transportation v.v for their workers.

This year, many workers spend holidays from 17 August (our Independence Day) to 26 August.

Before the festive, we Moslems voluntarily paid financial contribution known as the Zakat i.e. an Arabic word that means "that which purifies" or "alms". The amount of Zakat depends on the financial capability of the Moslem concerned.

The Eid festive began with Moslems performing Eid Prayer and listened to Sermon in mosques from 7 am until around 8 am. Afterwards, we shook hands with each other, apologize and forgive each other.

After that we went to visit our parents and other elderly people like uncles, aunts, employers, etc.

Considering that many citizens of Jakarta went home to their hometown, citizens who stay in the city, including me, enjoyed traffic-jam-free streets.

In this connection, I would like to wish my fellow Moslems a Happy Hari Raya Idul Fitri, and apologize for any mistake that I may have made. God Bless Us All.

My 2nd. Day of Eid

Today is the second day of Eid Ul-Fitr celebration for me and most Moslems in Indonesia.

I stayed at home to rest for a while after yesterday spending the whole day from early morning until evening starting from the Eid Prayer at 7 a.m in a mosque not far away from my home, to my mother and elder relatives' homes.

Day before yesterday I went to a mosque near my old house in Bintaro to pay Zakat (English = alms), a ritual before Eid whereby we donate certain portion (2.5%) of our treasure to be distributed to poor people. 

What really surprised me was that the traffic condition was not as empty as I have predicted, on the contrary many of the roads including toll roads were badly jammed especially in the afternoon. This is because people are going to their families, relatives, friends.

According to the news on TVs, recreational sites like the Ancol Beach resort, Ragunan Zoo and Taman Mini Indonesia were full of visitors like in previous years.

This morning I weigh myself on the the bathroom scale and saw that my weight is 5 kg.lower than before the Ramadhan fasting 30 days ago. That's quite good. I hope that I can lose more weight, but it would not be an easy thing to do because during Eid celebration there are lots of delicious food available at my home and at the homes of people that I will visit.It would not be easy to resist.

Happy Eid Ul Fitr 1432H

Today is the last day of Ramadhan for me and most Moslems in Indonesia and tomorrow we shall celebrate the Hari Raya Eid Ul Fitr / Lebaran.

In spite of this fact, I also have high respect for fellow Moslems who are celebrating Eid Ul Fitr today.

I wish each and everyone of you a Happy Hari Raya Eid Ul Fitr 1432 Hijrah, and sincerely hope that in the future Moslem leaders in Indonesia would want to be united for the very best interests of the people and the country, so that we can all have a single celebration.

I also hope that this Eid would bring Peace, Prosperity, Happiness and Healthiness to all of us in particular and human beings in general.

Thank God It's Ramadhan

On 11 August, Moslems around the world will enter the month of Ramadhan, during which we will Fast i.e. refrain from eating, drinking, smoking, sexual activity, getting angry, lying, using bad language, be more diligent in prayer and give charities.
 
The Fast begins after we have taken Sahur meal very early in the morning (Imsak), and broken at sunset (Magrib) by taking Iftar meal.

Those who fast includes Adults and mentally sane people. And those who may not fast are : children, women having their period, travelers, the sick, those with long-term illnesses, pregnant or breastfeeding women and the mentally ill.

The breaking of the Fast (Iftar) is a social occasion for which special foods are prepared for gatherings with family or friends. Upon hearing the call to prayer (Azan) from the mosque or radio or TV at sunset, the faithful know it's time to break their fast (buka puasa). This is usually done with a drink and snacks. Magrib prayer is made before a full meal is served. Afterwards, we have Taraweh prayer at the mosques or at gatherings every evening at about 7:30 p.m.

The schedule for Imsak and Maghrib is available in major newspapers, on the radio and on the television throughout Indonesia, as well as published in handouts by major religious organizations.

Why does Islam oblige its followers to fast during Ramadhan?

• To develop compassion for the poor and needy who feel hungry every day.
• As a spiritually and physically cleansing experience. Fasting is seen as an opportunity to separate ourself from the things of this world and to concentrate on our relationship with God.
• To become closer to God by contemplating His will in our life.
• To build self-discipline and to become a better person.

To all my Moslem brothers, sisters and friends, I wish you a Wonderful and Blessfull Ramadhan.

Are we paying too much for Freedom?

With a population of 240 million living in 17,000 island, with 6 major religions and different cultures, Indonesia is one the most plural country in the world.

Most of the people are Moslems living side by side with Protestants, Catholics, Hindu, Buddha and Confucian.

Since independence on 17 August 1945 until May 1998, Indonesia was governed by authoritarian regimes, where everything, including freedom of expression, should be based on social-political-economical stability and order. People in general and the news media in particular must speak, write and/or do things which are according to the regimes' rules of the games. Otherwise there would be severe consequences.

As a result, social, inter religion, political life seemed to be normal, and the economy grown quite stable.

Then came the so called "Reformasi" after the late President Soeharto stepped down from 32 years of authoritarian rule on 21 May 1998. The Constitution was amended several times, all members of parliament must be elected directly by the people - no more 20% seats for hand picked military representatives - the economic system changed from socialist planned system into a free fight liberal system, people are free to create political parties and organizations, the news media are free to write, talk, show almost everything, etc. etc.

As a result, religious hardliners who were banned in other countries were allowed to return, thereby causing so many problems like years of violence between Moslems and non Moslems in Ambon-Maluku and Poso-Sulawesi. Although the inter-faith violence have ended in both regions, many smaller scale problems happened in other regions.  Beside that I should also mention the series of suicide bombings in Bali and Jakarta carried out by people who were "brainwashed" by hard line religious fanatics that have killed so many innocent people.

As I write this post, there are two disputes reported by the media, first one is Moslems violent rejection on the construction of Christian churches and religious activities, and the second one is Moslems rejection on the existence of a Moslem Sect i.e. Ahmadiyah. 

Beside that, there are people who died because of other causes, like the Speaker of North Sumatera Parliament who died of heart attack after an angry mob ransacked a plenary meeting. There was also human right activist Munir who was poisoned to death by who knows who? Violence in Papua caused by various reasons including Freeport, regional election campaigns, etc. etc.

Moreover, the concept of free fight economy has made the owners of financial capital to prosper from imports of products in stead of producing locally, causing the closing down of factories : textile and garment, floor and roof tiles, furniture, steel products. Even fruits and vegetables are imported.

With the China-Asean Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) that started on 1 January 2010, that created the Free Trade Area between China and 10 ASEAN countries, things are getting more worst every day.

If no serious efforts is made to protect local industry, including postponement of the CAFTA for 3-5 years, high unemployment rate can be expected to increase in the years to come. As a logical consequence, crime rates would inevitably increase.

But now that the water is already flowing under the bridge, there is no need to regret for what we have chosen. The most important thing right now is that the leaders (Executive, Legislative and Judiciary) should have strong and consistent will to adopt and implement all the laws based on the concept of Rule of Law i.e. Supremacy of Law, Equality Before the Law, Presumption of Innocence, Respect of Human Rights. For that purpose, we need strong, smart, honest, fair and firm leaders who are willing to do his/her very best efforts only for the very best interest of the people of Indonesia.

If we can have all that, we can expect that freedom will bring much better things, and I am sure that Indonesia will prosper continously in the future.

Hoping for a better Fatwa/Edict

The Indonesian Ulama(Cleric) Council (MUI) has just issued Fatwa (edict) which declared that Infotainment i.e. Gossips in the news media about life of celebrities is Haram (Forbidden) for Moslems.

Beside that, MUI have also declared that Changing Sex intentionally is also Haram (Forbidden) for Moslem.

As a Moslem who has always been proud to be born, grew up, function as a male, and never enjoy watching Infotainment, MUI's above Fatwa/Edict have no effect at all, because our national legal system does not recognize Fatwa/Edict as a legally binding law, thus it is up to the individual whether he/she wants to obey it.
I doubt that most Indonesian Moslems who are moderate would obey it, but Fanatic Moslems would surely obey it.

I hope that as the highest official Moslem authority, MUI would pay attention to other matters which are far more important for the people and country such as : Corruption, Drug abuse, Inter-Religious Harmony, Growing Violence, Crimes, Unemployment, etc. that way people in our country can live more peacefully and harmoniously.

Related articles quoted from The Jakarta Globe :
                                            
- Gossip TV, Magazines Banned, MUI Rules;                                                                                               
- From Gossip to Sex Changes, MUI Weighs in with Fatwas;

Barack Obama & Indonesia

After the Cold War between Communist and Free countries ended in the late ‘80s, the Soviet Union has split into several independent countries, and the United States of America becomes the most powerful country on earth. As a result, the U.S President became the most powerful man on earth and people would pay attention to what he say.
(Photo: Courtesy of UPI)

That’s what happened when U.S President Barack Obama delivered a speech at the Cairo University in Egypt, last Thursday. Obama was quoted by The Jakarta Post as saying that Indonesia as the world’s largest Moslem country is a good example of religious tolerance which he saw first hand as a child in Indonesia, where Christians worshipped freely in an overwhelmingly Moslem country. He also highlighted Indonesia's successful promotion of gender equality, whereby its Moslem majority has elected a woman to lead.

According to Radio Australia, Obama’s speech drew mixed responses in Indonesia, i.e a country that has confidently emerged from its own struggles with authoritarianism, and to a lesser extent, extremism. Many people felt that his message was directed more towards the Arab world than Indonesia.

Further, U.P.I quoted some analysts as saying that Indonesia may be a key to help President Obama reach his goal of a new start with the Muslim world.

President Obama's above speech, as well as the previous speech of US Secretary State Hillary Clinton, show that the US government consider relationship with Indonesia as very important. I hope that this good sign would inspire our government & people to work much harder and make better efforts to develop our country.